Offering comfort in the face of conflict

Thursday, October 11, 2001

By GREGORY RUMMO

Nine days after the destruction of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, I went into New York City.

As I rode the subway toward the disaster site, I heard no conversations around me. New Yorkers didn't feel like talking yet.

After reaching the Nassau Street station, I made my way up the stairs to street level. The drizzle and low clouds added to the melancholy mood around ground zero.

The sidewalks were crowded. Police and National Guardsmen were everywhere, politely urging the crowds to keep moving. A fetid odor -- damp cement and something acrid -- blanketed us. It was the smell of death -- thousands of my fellow humans had been crushed by tons of hot steel and concrete. As I turned the corner, I saw the north tower reduced to a heap of smoldering rubble.

A woman standing next to me wept. "I used to work across the street, over there," she said, gesturing toward the wreckage. "My fiance gave me my first kiss right in front of that tower."

I comforted her as best as I could, and after a few minutes, she moved on.

How can Christians understand the attack against our nation? How should it affect us? What should be our response toward others?

Just as we are today, the people in Jesus' day were curious about a tragedy that happened during their lifetime. A tower built in Siloam had fallen, killing 18 men. A group of people asked Jesus whether God had done this to punish the men because of their sins.

Jesus answered: "Do you think that these . . . eighteen who died . . . were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:2-5).

Jesus used the tragedy to remind the people of the brevity of their own lives. He urged them not to point the finger at others' sins. Instead, he directed them toward personal repentance. I believe that today, Jesus is asking us for the same kind of self-examination. These horrific events should cause Christians to ask: "Am I doing all I can to live for Christ and be an example to others in both word and deed, or has my faith become shallow?"

Is your Bible dusty? Have you forgotten what it's like to spend an hour on your knees in prayer? Now would be a good time to rekindle your relationship with God.

Christians also have a duty, especially during this time, to show the love of Christ to others. Countless people are hurting. Survivors' lives may never be the same. We must find these people, pray for them, and love them. Ask what you can do to help. Become a servant to them. The apostle Paul wrote: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1).

We also should help others understand that the war we are fighting is justified. The acts of terrorism against the United States were aimed at civilian targets, killing thousands of innocent people. Our response against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's organization, Al Qaeda, and "any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism," in President Bush's own words, is justified.

"Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war. And we know that God is not neutral between them," Bush said, accurately, in his address to the American people and a joint session of Congress on Sept. 20.

St. Augustine of Hippo, a Church father who lived from 354 to 430, was the first Christian thinker to write extensively about the concept of a just war. Augustine's conditions for just war continue to influence Christian thinking today.

These conditions include:

The conflict must be waged under the authority of a ruler.

The party undertaking the war must have the right intentions.

The war must be waged by proper means.

The nation's rights must be violated by an actual or imminent attack.

Other means of preventing conflict (such as diplomacy or embargoes) have failed or would be futile.

The foreseeable evils of the conflict and the intended benefits must be in proportion.

Augustine believed that war is a logical extension of governance. And governance is, as St. Paul wrote in Romans 13:1-7, ordained by God.

"It makes a great difference by which causes and under which authorities men undertake the wars that must be waged," Augustine wrote.

Christians should be aware that the conflict America has undertaken surely meets Augustine's conditions.

Lastly, Christians need to remember that they can experience an inner peace during times of conflict. Jesus promised: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

Many have become fearful. Let us try to understand the events that have happened as we pray for our nation, asking God to protect us. May we also use this tragedy to challenge one another to a deeper faith and greater compassion.

And may we seek the peace of God, for ourselves and for our families.

Gregory Rummo is a business executive who belongs to Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Paterson, where he also serves as choir director. You may e-mail him at GregoryJRummo@aol.com

You can e-mail his editor, Lisa Haddock at Haddock@northjersey.com
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